Fifth-wheel for wagons.



J. W. HAYWOOD.

FIFTH WHEEL FOR WAGONS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1, 1907. I 946,672 Patented Jan. 18, 1910.

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JOHN W. HAYWOOD, 0F BALDWINSVILLE, NEW YORK.

FIFTH-WHEEL FOR WAGONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. November 1, 1907.

Patented Jan. 18, 1910.

Serial No. 400,159.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN W. HAYWOOD, of Baldwinsville, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fifth-WVheels for Wagons, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in fifth wheels for wagons and is particularly useful in connection with dump wagons and other heavy vehicles in which the king-bolts and fifth-wheel sections are subjected to severe strains.

In this class of wagons it is customary to provide for a limited lateral movement of the king-bolt in the axle or in the hounds by elongating the upper or lower end of the opening through which the king-bolt passes and in a comparatively short time these openings, either in the hound or axle become worn and elongated to such an extent as to permit the axle and hound to rock forwardly and rearwardly relatively to each other and this action frequently causes the grgaking of the connected parts or king- The primary object of my present invention is to provide for the vertical rocking of the ends of the axle independently of the hounds or body of the vehicle and without liability of unduly straining the king-bolt and at the same time to obviate excessive wear of the parts which are coupled by said king-bolt, and prevent forward and rearward tilting. In other words, I have sought to prolong the life of this part of the vehicle by providing the wood portion of the axle with a tubular metal insert which is capped by a metal plate fitted upon the upper face of the wood portion of the axle and provided with a longitudinal convexed bearing face and a central opening in line with the underlying sleeve for receiving the king-bolt, said plate forming one section of a fifth wheel and co-acting with a similar superposed plate having a longitudinally convexed lower face bearlng upon the upper convex face of the lower plate and itself forming the other section of the fifth wheel adapted to be secured to the underside of the hound, said upper plate being held against undue lateral movement by a central boss projecting upwardly from the lower plate through a central aperture in the upper plate.

In the drawingsFigures 1 and 2 are sectional views taken at right angles to each other of a fifth wheel embodying the various features of my invention. Figs. 3 and i are perspective views respectively of the lower and upper fifth-Wheel plates.

In order to fully demonstrate the practicability of my invention I have shown a portion of an ordinary axle consisting of a lower iron or steel bar -1- and superposed Wood section 2, the latter being provided with a central vertical aperture 3 therethrough in which is snugly fitted a tubular metal sleeve l extending from the top of the wood section 2 downwardly and terminating against the upper face of the steel axle section 1 and is held in place against turning or undue vertical movement by means of a bolt 5- which is passed transversely through suitable apertures in the tube and lower portion of the wood axle section 2.

Secured to the top face of the wood axle section 2 is a cast metal plate 6-- having a central aperture alined with the opening in the tube 3 for receiving a king-bolt -7, said plate extending equidistant at opposite sides of the king-bolt and is provided with a convex upper face -8, or rather, the upper face -8 is inclined longitudinally in opposite directions from a central boss 9- surrounding the central aperture therein. This plate is elongated in the direction of length of the axle to which it is secured by suitable clamping bolts 10 and the front and rear portions of its upper face at opposite sides of the boss 9- are formed with comparatively short ribs 11 for a purpose hereinafter described.

Secured to the under side of a bolster 12 directly over the plate 6 is a second cast metal plate 13 having a central aperture 14- through which the boss 9 projects, the lower face of said plate bemg convexed longitudinally of the shaft or axle and is provided with an annular groove 15- in which the ribs 1l are fitted and ride during the turning of the axle about the axis of the king-bolt. Thisupper plate 13 is secured by suitable bolts 19 to the under side of the hound or bolster 12, and together with the section 7- constitutes the main elements of the fifth wheel.

The boss 9 tapers upwardly and extends some distance through and beyond the central opening 1& in the plate 13, the under side of the plate 6 being also provided with a downwardly projecting annular flange 2l which fits more or less closely around and upon the upper end of the tube 4, the upper side of the wood axle section -2- being provided with an annular recess -22 for receiving the flange 21-.

The tube et forms practically a continuation of the plate -6 extending clownwardly to the upper face of the iron axle section 1 and forms a metal bearing throughout the lower portion of the length of the king-bolt 7- to protect the wood through which the king-bolt passes from undue abrasion or wear by any vibrations to which the king-bolt may be subjected, said tube also serving to reinforce the woodaxle section where the king bolt passes through it and prevent splitting of this part of the axle by excessive strains upon the king-bolt. It will be observed, however, that the manner of assembling the fifthwheel sections 6 and 13 between the hounds and axle removes the greater portion of the strain upon the king-bolt owing to the fact that the upper plate is free to rock upon the upper rocker face of the lower plate 6 and is held against lateral displacement by the boss 9 which receives the greater portion of the lateral thrust or relative lateral movement of the body and axle, thereby taking such strains off from the king-bolt. The opening lt is designed to fit closely at the base to the base of the upper boss 9-, but is sufiiciently large at the upper end to permit a limited lateral rocking movement of the fifth-wheel plates relatively to each other, particularly lengthwise of the axle. The fifth-wheel sections 6 and 13 may therefore be said to have contiguous rocker faces in rolling contact with each other in one direction; that is, longitudinally of the shaft, but are held from relative forward and rearward rocking movement by the ribs ll which ride in the annular groove 15- in the upper plate 13. This is an important feature of my invention in that it allows the opposite ends of the axle to rock vertically relatively to the box in passing over uneven obstructions and at the same time prevents forward and rearward rocking movement of the axle. The object in making these ribs 11 com-- paratively short longitudinally of the axle is to permit the fifth-wheel plates to rock longitudinally relatively to each other through a considerable arc and still prevent forward and rearward rocking movement of such plates upon each other. The lower plate -6 is provided with a forward extension 25 forming a limiting stop for the rear end of a' pole -16, the upper plate being formed with spurs 26 which enter the lower side of the bolster -12 to further lock the plate thereto.

lVhat I claim is:

l. A fifth-wheel comprising two metal plates having contiguous longitudinal rocker faces rolling one upon the other, one of the plates being provided with a central opening and the other plate provided with a hollow boss projecting into the opening to hold the plates against relative movement, and a king-bolt passed through the central portions of the plates and hollow boss.

In combination with an axle having a wood section and a metal section, a tubular sleeve passed through the wood section and abutting against the metal section, a kingbolt passed through the tubular sleeve, means for holding the sleeve against rotation, a fiftlrwheel section secured to the top face of the axle and provided with a central opening receiving the king-bolt, said fifth-wheel section being also provided with an upwardly projecting boss surrounding the king-bolt, a second fifth-wheel section having a central opening receiving said boss, said fifth-wheel sections having their adjacent faces convexed longitudinally and adapted to rock one upon the other lengthwise of the axes.

3. In combination with an axle having a wood section and a metal section, a tubular sleeve passed through the wood section, a king-bolt inserted into the tubular sleeve, a fifth-wheel section secured to the top face of the axle and provided with a central opening receiving the king-bolt, said fifth wheel section being also provided with an upwardly projecting boss surrounding the king-bolt, a second fiftlrwheel section having a central opening receiving said boss, said fifth-wheel sections having their adja cent faces convexed longitudinally and adapted to rock one upon the other lengthwise of the axes, the lower side of the upper fifth-wheel section being formed with an annular groove, and the upper side of the lower section having opposite comparatively short ribs riding in said groove.

4. In combination with a metal axle having a wood section provided with a central vertical opening, a tubular metal sleeve inserted in said opening, a fifth-wheel plate secured to the upper face of the wood section and provided with a central aperture in vertical alinement with the sleeve, the upper face of said plate being inclined longitudinally at opposite sides of the aperture and provided with comparatively short ribs located equidistant from and at the front and rear of said aperture, a second fifth-wheel plate having a lower convex face resting upon the upper face of the first named plate and also provided with a central aperture in vertical alinement with the tubular sleeve, the lower face of the second plate having an annular groove in which the ribs of the first named plate ride and a king-bolt passed through the apertures in said plate and into the sleeve.

5. In combination with an axle having a wood section and a metal section, the wood section having a vertical opening therethrough, a tubular metal sleeve secured in said opening and abutting against the metal axle section, a bolster, fifth wheel sections between the bolster and wood section of the axle, the lower fifth wheel section having a socket in its lower face receiving the upper end of the sleeve, and a king bolt passed through the fifth wheel sections and bolster and also through the metal sleeve.

6. In combination with an axle having a wood section and a metal section, the wood section having a vertical opening therethrough, a tubular metal sleeve secured in said opening and abutting against the metal axle section, a bolster, fifth wheel sections between the bolster and wood section of the axle, the lower fifth wheel section having an annular flange telescoping with the upper end of the sleeve, a king bolt passed through the fifth wheel sections and bolster and also through the metal sleeve, and means passed through the wood axle section, a tubular sleeve and king bolt for locking the tubular sleeve and king bolt to each other and to the wood axle section.

7. In combination with an axle having a wood section and a metal section, the wood section being provided with a vertical opening therethrough, a metal sleeve secured in said opening and abutting against the metal axle section, a bolster, fifth wheel sections between the bolster and upper face of the wood axle section, the lower fifth wheel section being provided with an annular flange surrounding the upper end of the metal sleeve, and a king bolt passed through the bolster and also through the fifth wheel sections and into the metal sleeve.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 21 day of October, 1907.

JOHN WV. HAYWOOD.

Witnesses:

HOWARD P. DENISON, MILDRED M. NOTT. 

